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once I gave up on my old Foot Fangs and got some Charlet M8's I used mono points for many years & loved them. then one day I was climbing Hobbit and Kevin Mahoney was there as well. I asked him what he was using and he said dual points, Petzl M10's. I asked why and he said that he liked having the stability and he only used mono points for really mixed stuff. I watched him walk the little edges on the Hobbit wall. I went back to IME, bought a pair of M10 duals and never looked back. I bought a pair of Lynx last year when they were hard to find and really like them.

I use both. Mono's for early season, mixed, and ice climbs that I know will be in weird candleried conditions. Overall, most of the time I'm on duel points. Once you cut the hole in the anti- bot on the Cyborgs it's relatively easy to change back and forth, although I found it easier to remove the anti- bot rather than cut. I would suggest getting a second set of front points as you'll most likely strip the screws if you change back and forth a few times.

You can cut the strap and wrap it around your ankle, works. Just fine.

I climbed in BD cyborg, modified as monos for a year or two and liked them just fine. then I switched to BD sabertooths and have liked their stability even more. as long as you're precise with your footwork, either will work just fine.

I have a pair of first maybe second generation Rambo's (dual). Although a bit on the heavy side they are awesome. I have been trying to find replacement front points. Seems hard to find, anybody know of a good parts website/store?

It's funny that when mono points first gained favor everyone and his brother jumped on the bandwagon and bought them. I never did, and would often get condescending looks from the enlightened ones. I mean, the ones whose wallets were enlightened.

Now the ice junkies seem to have travelled full circle.

Yeah, I thought monos were a stupid idea from the get go for pure ice, although it's certainly possible that was a rationalization to keep using my Fangs. They sold them with the idea that you could draft in your tool sticks, which is really irrelevant and even dumb 99% of the time. Plus, it seemed obvious that the most important thing on ice is to have quiet, stable feet, which seemed to me required a lot more concentration if you're attached by a single pivot point rather than a two point platform. And when the ice gets to <1" thick you want as much metal surface as possible in contact with the ice. Sometimes down South I'd break out the old SMC rigids for just that reason because those points were horizontal and laugh at the doofuses trying to scratch up with their little thin monos. Who knows, maybe they'll even come back to leashes.

I feel that I am more precise with the Monos, but they did take some getting used to. I think they teach quiet feet and displace far less ice than the dual points...I think they do save some energy too initially when they are first placed.

The duals seem to be better suited for all around ice up here. They take a bit more to place..multiple kicks and beat the shit out of the routes, but they definitely do offer more stability over the monos once they are in. I have been going back and fourth with this for years...last year was mono...the year prior was soley the dartwins! Personal preference for sure, but I would have to say that the dual set up feels more secure in most situations and enable you to do alpine ice in the gullies and handle those transitions from neve to blue ice far better than the monos which are miserable in airated or sun baked ice.

Just my two cents

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"Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you will be a mile away from them and you will have their shoes."

DLottmann

Never! That's one ship that has definitely sailed... unless they invent a virtual one that automatically disappears just by wishing it so every-time I need to place a screw, remove a screw, switch hands on my tool, etc...

Never! That's one ship that has definitely sailed... unless they invent a virtual one that automatically disappears just by wishing it so every-time I need to place a screw, remove a screw, switch hands on my tool, etc...

odd, I never have any problem placing and removing screws... What I can't get past is that I use my hands for climbing a lot on ice, which is after all the purest way to climb. And the fastest. The simplest thing to do is just drop the tool and go, which does not work as well leashless. yeah, yeah, I can gum things up gluing velcro everywhere, but I'd still be seriously concerned about losing a tool, especially when squirming through tight spots. Stegg gives me sh!t about how leashes are aid, but, guess what, it's all aid.

But this thread is supposed to be about that other abomination, the mono.

I heard all you guys spouting off on how great duals are a few years ago so i bought a pair a Sarkens. even talked myself into likeing them. One day I took my old rambocomp mono's for a spin and was blown away by how much better they were than the dual point sarkens... maybe it was simply the model of duals but I went back to monos and stayed... Whatever works for you..

Yeah, I thought monos were a stupid idea from the get go for pure ice, although it's certainly possible that was a rationalization to keep using my Fangs.

Certainly the interesting part of the foot fang is the v shape blade between the dual point. Never know why they don't have that blade on other crampon. When you kick on ice cycle, the blade just cut the surface of the ice an allow a deeper placement of each point.

When you think at the shape of the ice, most route of grade 2 to 4 are mostly uniform in mountain and area with no diurnal melt down. Dual point are better on those place because you have a better stability. As you climb to 5 and 6 grade, the quality of the ice is not as good and you have to climb on ice cycle. A one inches ice cycle hit in the middle don't gave you any grip of your dual point in the ice because your boot hit the rond shape of the ice cycle beforeyour point. At this moment, level expert, leashless, etc, mono point is more than easier.

At my point of view, always better for a beginer to use dual point because the technique is a little bit harder to understand. When the beginer know how to evaluate the ice, he can move to mono point to perform. The facility way, using mono point because you need less power to anchor your point, is not, at my opinion, a good solution. A solid climber on dual point is always going to be a stronger climber to me than a shaky mono point climbing a level higher.

Think at the description of Bouchard climbing repentence last year...describe by Al if my memory is good.